“Judges have an enormous amount of power. Think about the types of cases they preside over,” said Gerry Saltarelli, who chaired the judicial evaluation committee of the Chicago Bar Association. “They make decisions that are very important. They should be good people and voters should exercise some intelligence when voting.”

There are 61 judges running for retention, including one for the Illinois Supreme Court and one for the Illinois Appellate Court. Judges who are elected to the Cook County Circuit court have to stand for retention every six years.

In order to be retained, a judge must receive at least 60 percent of the vote. If a judge does not receive 60 percent of the vote he or she will be out of a position, said Saltarelli. “Although, I don’t know if that’s ever happened.”

To help voters navigate the options, the Chicago Bar Association, Chicago Council of Lawyers and Illinois State Bar Association have evaluated whether sitting judges seeking retention within Cook County should remain in his or her present office. All of those judges received unanimous support from the bar associations except for the following circuit court judges:

Kathy M. Flanagan

James M. Vargas

Maura Slattery Boyle

Matthew E. Coghlan

Andrea M. Schleifer

Lionel Jean-Baptiste

Lisa Ann Marino

The three bar associations have also screened and ranked each of the 44 judicial candidates. Those who receive the most votes in their respective races will be elected.

The Chicago Council of Lawyers evaluated a candidate’s ability to serve on the relevant court in the following categories: fairness (including sensitivity to diversity and bias), legal knowledge and skills (competence), integrity, experience, diligence, impartiality, judicial temperament, respect for the rule of law, independence from political and institutional influences, professional conduct, character and community service.

Based on CCL evaluations, candidates were rated as “qualified,” “well qualified,” “highly qualified” and “not qualified.” Candidates who did not participate in the evaluation process were rated as “not recommended.”

The Illinois State Bar Association conducted a detailed background investigation and an in-person interview of each candidate. Candidates were rated “qualified,” “highly qualified” or “not qualified.”